• Urine After a long day my not-so-developed thigh muscles sadly gave out on me and I ended up losing my balance. After being saved by the toilet I quickly realized that someone before me had been selfish and careless.
Feeling the previous tenant’s DNA absorb into my skin is not the way I should have to spend my stall time. And this spillage is from women who, in their own lives, constantly harp on their loved ones to clean up after themselves.
These same women harass their co-workers by installing cute little signs in the office kitchen area that say “Your Maid Doesn’t Work Here,” and this is just to address dirty coffee mugs. So why do these same women, frustrated at a hundred minor acts of filth, remain unaffected by leaving their dribble on the bowl?
What effort would it take to grab some toilet paper and wipe the seat down when you’re done? If you are too grossed out by your own pee to wipe down the seat, think about how I must feel.
• Tampons We all started our periods on average around the age of 12. By the time we are adults we should be experts at how to handle tampons. I’m not a big believer in flushing a used tampon, but many women do. The least they could do is finish the job.
Instead, by your urgency to exit the stall I am not only left to deal with your pee on the seat, but also your used feminine hygiene products gathered at the bottom of the bowl. Next time, try giving a good hard tug to the handle when flushing. The quick kick of your heel doesn’t get the job done.
And if you are a woman who chooses to use the trash receptacle to dispose of your products, then do us all a favor and use an ample amount of toilet paper.
• Countertops Women will spend 10 minutes applying lipstick but not 30 seconds wiping up the water they splatter over the room. You carelessly leave a pile of liquid soap on the counter after eagerly saturating your hands in a futile effort to protect yourself from phantom germs on the handle of the exit door. Oh the irony.
I read once that “resolutions are more sustainable when shared, both in terms of with whom you share the benefits of your resolution, and with whom you share the path of maintaining your resolution. Peer-support makes a difference in success rate with new year’s resolutions.”
This theory tells us that by letting someone else know of your resolutions, you will be more accountable. But I also think this would hold true in keeping our bathrooms clean.
If every woman committed to taking that extra 10 seconds to make sure everything in her stall is left tidy and dry, as well as wiping away any mess she makes at the sink, then all of our experiences in a public restroom would change for the better in 2012.
Happy New Year.
Melissa Carter is former co-host of “The Bert Show” on Q100, where she broke ground as the first out lesbian radio personality on a major station in the city and was one of the few out morning show personalities in the country. Keep up with her at www.melissatimes.com.